![]() One 2002 study found that Mullein has antiseptic properties and is effective against pneumonia, staph, and E. Herbalists’ use of Mullein to treat other lung ailments and other infections has, in some cases, been validated by modern studies. Researchers tested a Mullein extract on roundworms and tapeworms and found it to be effective. Some tribes of the Makaland region of Pakistan also use Mullein as a vermicide. They also used an infusion to treat athlete’s foot. The Zuni used poultices of powdered roots to treat skin infections, sores, and rashes. Some groups, like the Zuni, also found other uses. They continued the tradition of smoking the leaves and powder roots and making tea. These preparations were used to treat skin, gastrointestinal, respiratory, vein, and muscle issues.Ĭolonists brought Mullein to North America, where Native Americans quickly utilized it. In traditional Austrian medicine, Mullien was used internally as a tea and externally in baths, ointments, and compresses. Different preparations have been used to treat hemorrhoids, colds, flu, sunburn, and croup. Throughout the years, oil infused with Mullein flowers has been used to treat various conditions, including earaches, frostbite, eczema, warts, boils, and other external conditions. The leaves were often smoked for this purpose. One of the first historical mentions was by the famous Greek physician Dioscorides who recommended Mullein for pulmonary diseases 2000 years ago. Mullein is an essential herb in many folk traditions. Mullein often grows in waste places, but you should avoid harvesting it in contaminated areas like roadsides. Most frequently, the leaves, roots, and flowers are used for tea for medicinal purposes. I’m particularly fond of the roots, which are a tasty root crop. The flowers are tasty enough as edible flowers, and can be added to salads for a bright splash of color. The leaves can be eaten raw but are not very good, and the hairy leaves may irritate some. The seeds are toxic and should not be consumed. Mullein leaves, flowers, and roots are edible. Common Mullein is also known as Great Mullein, Greater Mullein, Feltwort, Bullicks Lungwort, Hig Candlewick, Poor Man’s Blanket, Wooly Mullein, Lady’s Blanket, Velvet Mullein, Moses’ Blanket, or Blanket Mullein. In the United States, Mullein often refers to the biennial Common Mullein (Verbascum thapsus), which has naturalized throughout the Americas and Australia. Most species are herbaceous weeds, but some may be more shrub-like. Most species are biennial or perennial plants, but a few are annuals. ![]() Mullein is of the Scrophulariaceae or snapdragon family. Verbascum, often called mullein, is a genus of over 450 species of plants native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. See how lovely it looks in my perennial bed below? The bees love it too. If you can’t find mullein in the wild, you can also grow it if you have a few Mullein Seed Packets. (The root is also supposedly a great remedy for back pain, at least according to folk herbalists, and it’s made into a herbal tincture for that reason.) The thick tap root is best harvested in the Autumn of the first year, so you’ll need to be able to identify the plant before it goes to flower if you want to harvest the root. The leaves are used in respiratory teas, and they’re especially effective for bronchial complaints.Īs far as eating goes, I think the best part is the root. The flowers are eaten as is, but they’re also made into herbal-infused oils for all manner of issues, most notably ear infections. In the second year, this biennial plant explodes into a 6 to 8-foot tall stalk of bright yellow flowers…and those beautiful flowers are where much of the medicine lies. You could easily walk over it, or mow over it on your lawn without taking much notice.Īt that point, it’s just waiting, and storing energy in its tap root. In the first year, the plants are an inconspicuous basal rosette that stays low to the ground. Mullein is one of those wild weeds that’s hard to miss, at least when it’s in flower. This particular weed should be in every herbalist’s medicine cabinet, and it’s easy to forage in the wild. Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) is a common wild weed that’s both edible and medicinal.
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